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| Hmm.. another long post. Sorry for the lengthiness, but I didn't have time to condense my thoughts.
In a class discussion today, the idea of Christian sin and moral code came up. The class agreed that the notion of sin is breaking the commandments of God. That is correct, but not entirely. Sin is essential separation from God. Plain and simple, anything that is not the will of God is sin. Those who are not Christians will go to hell. That is a fact; it is written in the Word.
I will define Christians as those who understand the idea of sin, recognize that they themselves are sinners, turned to God, who is the almighty, powerful Creator and asked Him for salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. In accepting Christ into their hearts, they want to pursue a life that is holy and Christ-like. With this in mind, I beg pardon of those who are offended and put off by Christianity because they do not fully grasp the idea of complete servitude.
So what makes a good life? That was the question discussed in class. Good can be a variable term. Some defined a good life as living comfortably, not having to worry month to month where the next paycheck will come from. Some defined it as having a mansion and being rich. Some defined it as being recognized for their works and ideas.
So from a Christian perspective, what is a good life? Many, who are NOT Christians, said that from a Christian perspective, living a good life is doing good deeds and that when we die, we will be judged according to our actions. Now, again, I say this is only partially true.
A good life starts from putting off the old self and going into the new. It is not just a good life, but a new life. The old life was sin, self-satisfaction, and self-reliance. The new is holiness, righteousness, and closeness to God. New life starts with accepting Christ and believing in the salvation that He offers. Our ACTIONS alone cannot help us attain salvation, but rather our faith does.
Romans 9: 16 “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe I your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Now if it is solely by our faith that we are saved, then what do our actions have to do with anything? How did all these non-Christians get the idea that we believe if we do good deeds we will go to Heaven?
Because we are, in fact, called to do good deeds. If we believe that Christ saved us, than we also believe that He knows what is best for us. He has a plan to prosper us and not harm us. Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Believing comes from the mind. The mind is what we are. It is part of our characteristics. It determines who we are, what we do, how we act towards friends, enemies, and complete strangers. So what we believe and what we think about make up who we are. How often do we think about God then? How often does God make us who we are?
What then makes a good life?
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
So we think about these good things. And in thinking (Should I use the word meditating?), our actions too will become good.
Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up I him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
In our faith, we recognize that God works for good and that God is good. Our purpose, and subsequently our lives, then should be good. A good life… you can define it how you want, but a good life will be characterized by what God sees. Just as an apple tree produces apples and not oranges, a good life will produce blessings and not malevolence. You cannot lead a good life, and do bad deeds.
However, we MUST remember: it doesn’t start with good deeds (good deeds = the fruit.) You don’t take an apple and put it on an orange tree and call the orange tree an apple tree! In the same way, good deeds alone do not make a good life. It is the other way around. A good life (a heart for serving the Lord) produces good deeds. What we think translates into what we do. I urge us all to meditate on Scripture, to delight in the law of the Lord, and therefore walk in the ways of Christ. That, is a good life.
A good friend sent me this link last week. The video is really amazing! =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhX7m3rF20c&feature=fvsr | | |
| God is big. REALLY REALLY BIG.
Reading Matthew 9 during devotions, I came across the passage in which Jesus eats with tax collectors and “sinners”. He eats with the “bad crowd” and the Pharisees are disgusted. These people are like the dust on the bottom of their sandal to the Pharisees.
Then, I remember something Pastor Minh said… nations are like a speck of dust to God. Less than a speck of dust.
China, the USA, and all of Europe combined = little tiny nothings.
Isaiah 40: 15- 18
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
If nations are LESS than nothing, what then are we? If nations (note that “nations” is plural, not singular) are less than nothing, then in comparing ourselves… how irrelevant and unimportant are we! Sitting in a bare room, you might notice a tiny speck of dust. MIGHT. Let that dust particle represent nations. Dust, itself is trivial to your life. Why should you care that there is a tiny dust particle floating around? You don’t consider it, ponder it, nor do you hope for its future or its prosperity. Now, what about the atoms or subatomic particles that make up that piece of dust? I bet you didn’t even THINK about that. Why should you? It is something so insignificant, so small, and so worthless. That is us. Look at the all the glory and creation of God and realize how small we are. Now that room was bare, so you might have noticed the dust particle. Now fill that room with chairs, tables, windows with grand drapery, a lamp, a rug, a flat screen television, a bookcase filled with old volumes, a roaring fireplace, and a grand piano. These are the rest of his creation. The sky, the waters, the stars. The galaxy, the universe. All that he has created, including Heaven. Now do you notice that speck of dust?
God notices us and loves us. He is great and almighty and powerful, yet He reaches down to the least of us and draws us to Him. We still pull away from Him; we follow our own paths because we are selfish and sinful. How arrogant are we, who are as less than nothing, to compare ourselves to God! We take our own lives into our hands and do what we want. Following God can be boring, tiresome, and sometimes even feel fruitless. We rather hang out with friends, sleep in late, heck.. even do homework! I am ashamed. I am unworthy, but God calls me his daughter.
I, who am less than nothing, have been called to bring Him glory. He shows his greatness and his power and his might when He uses even specks of dust to reflect his goodness, his graciousness, and his holiness. I praise the Lord because I am reminded of how absolutely huge He is, and how absolutely small I am. May the name of the Lord be praised!
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| Long post again. Some people have such strong convictions about their faith. Some of those die for their conviction. I was browsing through songs on my computer when I ran into one called Cassie. I was reminded of last summer when I spoke with a middle school group about standing for their faith. "Do you really believe in God?" Would you die for Him as He died for you?
Would you deny Christ at point blank?
Or be strong enough to proclaim your faith? Tough questions all around.
Many artists, inspired by martyrs, have written lavish hymns. Many, after the Columbine shooting, wrote about Cassie Bernall. Michael W. Smith wrote, "It was a test we could all hope to pass
But none of us would want to take
Faced with the choice to deny God and live
For her there was one choice to make"
Would you pass the test? Would I? Michael W. Smith wrote this song, titled This is Your Time
This was her time, this was her dance. This was her time to shine; to be great, and now that she's gone, this is our time. We may never be faced with that question, and I thank God for that because I would wish it on no one. But faced with such a question, I'd hope that I could have the same strength, the same fearlessness in face of death. "Though you are mourning, and grieving your loss,
Death died a long time ago
Swallowed in life, so her life carries on"
For Christians, death should be nothing to us. Death to us died a long time ago, two thousand something years ago. Death died when Christ, the most perfect, rose from the grave. Death died when the sinless One took up the cross to take our sins. And when he rose again and conquered death; all who believed were made alive. All who believe are made alive. So I may think, if I was faced with the choice to deny God or live? I could think denying Him in a sense is death itself for when I find that I don't believe He is real, then I have already died to sin. But what if we were faced with the choice to deny God or be humiliated by our friends? How many times have we stayed silent when our friends put down our faith? Cassie by Flyleaf The question asked in order
To save her life or take it
The answer no to avoid death
The answer yes would make it, make it
"Do you believe in God?" written on the bullet
Say yes to pull the trigger
"Do you believe in God?" written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger
All heads are bowed in silence
To remember her last sentence
She answered him, knowing what would happen
Her last words still hanging in the air, in the air "Do you believe in God?" written on the bullet
Say yes to pull the trigger
"Do you believe in God?" written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger
How many will die?
I will die
I, I will say yes "Do you believe in God?"
And I will pull the trigger
Cassie wasn’t just killed. In many senses, Cassie chose her own death. She pulled the trigger on the gun that boy was holding when she said, "Yes" Her words will stand in fame for all those who share her faith. Such a simple three letter word. I pray we all have the same strength to stand for Christ as she did. Maybe we’ll never face the bullet with the words “Do you believe in God” written on it, but we definitely will face someone who asks. What will you say? | | |
| So I was in LA/Las Vegas last weekend with my family doing the whole "reunion" thing. So we were in the van driving from LA to LV, known as Sin City, and I realize that this station on the radio is a Christian station. The Song Ocean by Ten Shekel Shirt comes on and I'm listening to the lyrics that say "Lately, I've been thinking about You
And lately, I've been dreaming of You
And lately, I can't get You out of my head
Get You out of my head chorus:
Something about the ocean
Makes me rise up and praise
Something about the heavens
Makes me stand in awe again
Something about the sunrise
Reminds me of Your faithfulness
Something about the ocean
And I'm lost in love again I'll sing until I sense a smile
Upon Your great and lovely face
And till I know Your glory's in this place
Your glory's in this place" Well Vegas is one of the places in the world I really really dislike. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't gamble, I don't watch shows. Even if I was 21 I wouldn't gamble, drink, or smoke. Shows are flamboyant and flashy. The whole city screams of absolute materialism.
This song in the midst of my reluctance to go to this place really hit me in a deep way. The fact that a Christian station even played in this area made me just a tiny bit more hopeful. The song reminded me that God is faithful. Looking out the window, the sky was clear and dark, spotted with numerous stars that reminded me of camp and the group of believers that praised so steadily every morning and night. "There is something about the sunrise that reminds me of Your faithfulness" Indeed, it rises and sets daily, the beauty of it never failing. He holds the stars in the sky and the sun in its place, how much more faithful is He to us who are made to worship? The vastness of the ocean is miniscule compared to the vastness of His majesty. His love so deep, it's uncomprehendable. God's glory is in every place even when it seems like darkness is all consuming. He is a light unto the world and I am so thankful for every believer out there because it gives me hope. The perseverance of Christians all around give me strength to stand and to keep believing. Everytime I see a group of believers worshipping together and fellowshipping, it makes me so joyful. So I thank you who read this and believe that He is real and living for the hope you give the world. I thank you who are not a believer because you have read my witness to His glory. Mostly, I thank the Lord for His presence in dark times. He has been so good and will always be good. He is never changing and faithful. | | |
| "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25 A friend asked me today if he was a godly man. That question flustered me a bit before I gave him a response. What defines a godly man? Does such a person other than our Lord Christ Jesus even exist? I can tell you characteristics of a godly man, I can tell you what a godly man may do, but who am I to judge who or what a godly man is? My pastor has been preaching about the Spirit for a few weeks now, and has been reading from passages in Galatians 5. Though I cannot tell you what defines a godly man, one thing is certain: a godly man is filled with the Spirit. The Holy Ghost living in us is what makes us godly, though it does not mean we ourselves are godly. Far from it, we ourselves are SINNERS! Sinners who defy God and everything good that He stands for. We have sinful natures and are born into the chains of sin. We are selfish, we are immoral, we are disgusting. We fall into temptation. I know I often do, and I struggle with sin and its hold on me often. I believe in the Spirit, and I invited the Spirit to live in me. I WANT to live by the Spirit so that I am not under the laws of sinful nature. Galatians 5:17 states that the Spirit and sinful nature are in conflict with each other. That is completely true in my life. There is conflict in me. A war that wages in my heart between good and evil. God in us is holy. He transforms us. Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Christians are transformed so that they live by the Spirit. With this renewal, we read and study the Bible and pray to know God's will. We learn and find the difference between what is good and what is not. Discerning righteousness from evil things. Discernment alone is not enough is it? Even after knowing the difference, is there still not a struggle between the desires of the flesh and the desire to serve our Lord? A godly man lives by the Spirit despite these struggles. He is fruitful in the sense that he possesses love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, the fruit of the Spirit. As my pastor stressed to us, fruit that comes from the trees aren't grown for the trees' sake, they're grown for others to enjoy! So be it with our own fruitfulness. The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control should be for the sake of serving others and for serving God. Is that not the greatest commands? To love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves? God alone is perfect. So how can we be like Him? We are made in His image, but even the best in us can only be a glimpse of His holiness. Everything good that we have comes from Him. Do you consider the apostle Paul a godly man? He was a sinner like you and me. He persecuted and annihilated Christians before accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior. He struggled with sins just like any human born into sin. So is he a godly man? I can't answer that question. As another friend of mine answered, "I don't know. Ask God." I can tell you what are some of the things God wants from us. Those are clearly listed in the Bible. Just read it and you can see for yourself. The Bible is there to help us. It is God inspired and God breathed. They are His Words. "Live a godly life" many church goers, pastors, and believers will tell you. I agree. Live a godly life regardless of your past. If you fall, get up, repent, ask God for forgiveness and turn away from evil. Be fruitful. "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." -Matthew 20:27 We are servants. We are lowly, yet God has raised us to be worthy of being called His children. He saved us, and by faith we follow His commands. If we submit our lives to Him, that will please Him. If we love Him and obey Him regardless of our own desires, that will please Him. A godly man is a man of God. A godly woman is a woman of God. I can't tell you what that is, it is something indescribable. It is something you have to find for yourself, it is something that God alone can judge. I came to witness, I am created to serve and to witness to others what He has done in my life and to show of His merciful grace that allowed me to live by the Spirit. I admit, I fall short of His glory often, and I don't always live by the Spirit, but that is the sin in me. I want to get rid of that in me, and I pray for His mercy. I need God. You need God. Everyone needs God. Our purpose in life is to glorify God by taking joy in serving Him and making others glad in God. We are called to serve and be fruitful, living in the ways of the Spirit, not bound by the laws of sinful nature. We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit, come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord, we cast down our idols So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks Your face O God of Jacob | | |
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